The State of Alaska - An Introduction to the Last Frontier from NETSTATE.COM The State of Alaska Photograph: Harley D. Nygren America's last frontier! On March 30, 1867, the United States agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, about two cents an acre; "Seward's Folly" many called it, after Secretary of State William H. Seward. A check for $7,200,000.00 was issued on August 1, 1868 and made payable to Edouard de Stoeckl, the Russian Minister to the United States. On January 3, 1959, Alaska, with a land mass larger than Texas, California and Montana combined, became the 49th state in the union. It is a large state, 1/5 the size of all the other states together, reaching so far to the west that the International Date Line had to be bent to keep the state all in the same day. It's also the only U.S. state extending into the Eastern Hemisphere.

In Alaska, the "family car" has wings, vegetables and fruit grow to two times their normal size and moose interrupt golf games when they feel like it. THE STATE NAME: The name "Alaska" was used by the Russians to refer only to the peninsula. This name was used by the United States to refer, first to the entire territory, and then, to the State after its purchase in 1867. The name "Alaska" is taken from the Aleut word "aláxsxaq" that refers to an object to which the sea is directed, in this case the Alaska peninsula and mainland. This is sometimes loosely translated as "great land." Alaska; The Last Frontier The Last Frontier Alaska, admitted as the 49th state to the union is thought of as "America's Last Frontier" because of its distance from the lower 48 states and because of its rugged landscape and climate. This remote and rugged perception is evidenced by the fact that only about 1/3 of the state has been organized into political units; 13 boroughs (similar to counties) are defined.

Land of the Midnight Sun This nickname refers to Alaska's northern locations where, for a period of time, in the summer, the sun never completely dips below the horizon. The sun is visible at midnight. Parts of Alaska are bathed in 24 hours of daylight. In Barrow, the sun doesn't set for 84 days. For more information about the extremes of Alaska days and nights, visit this page maintained by the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development. Seward's Folly When the agreement to purchase the Alaska territory from Russia was struck in 1867 by Secretary of State William H. Seward, there were many in the lower 48 states, who looked upon the deal with skepticism and were critical of the secrecy that had surrounded it and of the high price tag. Though Seward finalized agreement with Russia in March, it was a long and bitter battle to get final Congressional approval for the purchase and then get Congress to approve the money for the purchase.

During this period, critics of Seward's agreement to purchase the Alaska territory from Russia called the plan referred to the plan as " Seward's Folly ." Congress, finally relented and on October 18, 1867, in Sitka, the Imperial Russian Flag was lowered and the Stars and Stripes was raised. Seward's Ice Box The is another derisive name given to the Alaska territory during the battle between Secretary of State William H. Seward and the United States Congress over the purchase of the land from Russia. Other satirical names were "Icebergia," "Polaria," and "Walrussia." Critics of the purchase also chastised the President of the United State, Andrew Johnson, by referring to the Alaska territory as "Johnson's Polar Bear Garden." Alaska | history - geography - state, United States | Britannica.com state, United States (2010) 710,231; (2016 est.) 741,894 Total area (sq mi) Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives 1 (of 435) Alaskan (GMT − 9 hours) 1Excluding military abroad.

Alaska, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted to the union as the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Alaska lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent and is the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere . Because the 180th meridian passes through the state’s Aleutian Islands , Alaska’s westernmost portion is in the Eastern Hemisphere . Thus, technically, Alaska is in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Alaska is bounded by the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north; Canada ’s Yukon territory and British Columbia province to the east; the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south; the Bering Strait and the Bering Sea to the west; and the Chukchi Sea to the northwest. The capital is Juneau , which lies in the southeast, in the panhandle region . Denali (Mount McKinley), Denali National Park, Alaska. Robert Glusic/Getty Images Alaska is central to the great circle route connecting North America with Asia by sea and air and is equidistant from most of Asia and Europe .

That central location has made Alaska militarily significant since the Japanese invasion of the Aleutians in 1942 during World War II . Alaska’s eastern border with Canada is about 1,538 miles (2,475 km) long, more than one-third the length of the entire U.S. boundary with Canada (3,987 miles [6,416 km]). Alaska’s western maritime boundary, separating the waters of the United States and Russia , was established in the Treaty of Cession of 1867 (which declared the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States). The roughly 1,000-mile (1,600-km) de facto boundary runs through the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Strait to a point between Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island and Russia’s Chukotskiy (Chukchi) Peninsula and to the southwest, between Attu Island, the westernmost island of the Alaskan Aleutian chain, and the Russian Komandor Islands . The boundary leaves a patch of international waters, known as the “Doughnut Hole,” in the Bering Sea.

Off the extreme western end of the state’s Seward Peninsula , Little Diomede Island , part of Alaska, lies in the Bering Strait only 2.5 miles (4 km) from Russian-owned Big Diomede Island . Both Russia and the United States have shown a tacit tolerance of unintentional airspace violations, which are common in bad weather. The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, or about two cents per … Bettmann/Corbis Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest The name Alaska is derived from the Aleut alaxsxa or alaxsxix̂, both meaning “mainland” or “great land.” Indeed, Alaska has an immense area and a great variety of physical characteristics. Aside from its mainland peninsula, the state includes about 15,000 square miles (38,800 square km) of fjords and inlets and about 34,000 miles (54,400 km) of indented tidal coastline. In addition, most of the continental shelf of the United States lies along Alaska’s coast.

In the Alaska Range north of Anchorage is Denali ( Mount McKinley ), 20,310 feet (6,190 metres) high—the highest peak in North America. Nearly one-third of the state lies within the Arctic Circle , and about four-fifths of Alaska is underlain by permafrost (permanently frozen sediment and rock). Tundra—the vast treeless Arctic plains—makes up about half of the state’s surface area. The southern coast and the panhandle at sea level are fully temperate regions. In those and in the adjoining Canadian areas, however, lies the world’s largest expanse of glacial ice outside Greenland and Antarctica . Rimming the state on the south is one of Earth’s most-active earthquake belts, the circum-Pacific seismic belt. Alaska has more than 130 active volcanoes, most of which are on the Aleutian Islands and the adjacent Alaska Peninsula. The Alaska earthquake of 1964 was one of the most-powerful earthquakes recorded in the United States. Denali (Mt. McKinley), south-central Alaska, U.S.

© Jeff Vanuga/Corbis Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve The difficulty of finding a balance between conservation and development in an enormous land has been ongoing since the beginning of the 20th century. Alaska’s residents and the state and federal governments have had to make delicate decisions on such major issues as a natural gas pipeline project, Native Alaskans’ land claims, the creation of national parks and wildlife refuges, noncommercial whaling by native peoples, and related matters. One of the major conflicts occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s between conservationists and petroleum companies over the proposed Trans-Alaska Pipeline , which now runs from the oil-rich North Slope on the Arctic Ocean to Valdez , in the south. The debate intensified following a catastrophic oil spill in 1989, when the tanker Exxon Valdez released some 250,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound . Moreover, beginning in the 1980s, the two sides came into conflict over whether to permit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge .

In the early 21st century the question of drilling in the 23-million-acre (9.3-million-hectare) National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska on the Arctic coastal plain and on the continental shelves of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas also became controversial issues. Area 665,384 square miles (1,723,337 square km). Population (2010) 710,231; (2016 est.) 741,894. Koyukuk River flowing through Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge, central Alaska, U.S. Bill Raften/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Workers steaming blast rocks covered in crude oil leaking from the Exxon Valdez, an oil … U.S. Coast Guard Land Relief Alaska comprises eight distinct physiographic and environmental regions. Much of the mainland panhandle region, a narrow strip of land 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 km) wide lying east and south of the St. Elias Mountains , is composed of the Boundary Ranges. There are several large icefields there, and the peaks include Mount St.

Elias (18,008 feet [5,489 metres]), from whose summit the Alaska-Yukon border shifts due north following the 141st meridian. The western extension of that mountain chain is the Chugach Range , a giant arc at the northernmost edge of the Gulf of Alaska. Many of the range’s remote valleys and high ridges are still unexplored, and the relief and glaciation inhibit exploitation. The coast is characterized by frequent and intense oceanic storm systems that have produced dense rain forests on the coastal mountain flanks. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The region of the south coastal archipelago and the Gulf of Alaska islands includes the Alexander Archipelago in the panhandle region, with 1,100 islands, as well as Kodiak Island , just southeast of the Alaska Peninsula, and its satellites south of Cook Inlet . Those islands are lower, less rugged, and less glaciated. All receive heavy rain and are affected by waters warmed by both the Kuroshio and Alaska currents. Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Robin L. West/U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service The Aleutian region includes the Alaska Peninsula , which forms the south shoreline of Bristol Bay , and the 1,100-mile- (1,770-km-) long Aleutian island chain that separates the North Pacific from the Bering Sea. The chain includes 14 large islands, 55 significant but smaller ones, and numerous islets. The largest islands are Unimak , Unalaska, and Umnak . On the occasionally clear summer days, active volcanoes and such glacier-covered peaks as symmetrical Shishaldin Volcano (9,372 feet [2,857 metres]) on Unimak can be seen. Usually, however, the weather is wet and stormy, the winds horizontal and cutting, and the fog all-pervading. Rat Island, Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska. Art Sowls/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The broad Alaska Range region connects the Aleutian Range across the southern third of mainland Alaska to the Wrangell Mountains , which abut the vast complex of the St. Elias Mountains. The Wrangell Mountains have large active volcanoes and high valley glaciers.

The flanks of that subarctic range are largely tundra-covered. A beaver pond with the Wrangell Mountains in the background, in Wrangell–Saint Elias National … Fred Hirschmann—Science Faction/Getty Images The low-lying interior basin region between the Alaska Range in the north and the Chugach–Wrangell–St. Elias mountains to the south and east enjoys a relatively temperate climate. The valleys of the Susitna and Matanuska rivers, Cook Inlet, and the Kenai Peninsula are where the majority of Alaskans live. Pavlof Volcano, southwestern Alaska. T. Miller/U.S. Geological Survey The central plains and lowlands of interior Alaska constitute a vast region west and north of the Alaska Range; they reach as far north as the Brooks Range . The lowlands extend west from the Canadian border to Norton Sound , the Seward Peninsula , and the Yukon River delta, as well as south to the northern rim of Bristol Bay on the Bering Sea. The region is characterized by river flats and truncated tablelands, as well as extensive areas of wetlands formed from melting permafrost.

It includes the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, a 9-million-acre (3.6-million-hectare) refuge that contains the Yukon Flats, a vast wetland basin, and the Tanana River floodplain, part of which supports the growth of boreal forests. Tanana River, east-central Alaska. Dubhe The Brooks Range runs from west to east in the area north of the interior. It gradually slopes northward through a set of low-ridge foothills to a linear coastal plain bordering the Arctic Ocean and westward to lower hills north of Kotzebue Sound. There are a few high Arctic glaciers in the eastern Brooks Range, and the area is semiarid. The lower flanks and valleys are tundra-covered, with permafrost features. Snow-covered high peaks of the Brooks Range, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Alaska, … U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The Arctic coastal plain north of the Brooks Range, often referred to as the North Slope , has a truly polar environment , with the sea waters along the coast frozen eight months of the year and the ground permanently frozen except for a thin zone of summer melting. It is treeless and, in summer, grasses and Arctic alpine flowers abound.

The Colville River flows through the centre of that region and lies along the eastern edge of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, originally set aside for petroleum development. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lies to the east of the Colville. Prudhoe Bay , located between those reserves, is a centre of oil-drilling activities in the region. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline running parallel to a highway north of Fairbanks. Al Grillo/AP Drainage Because of the permanently frozen ground, the Arctic coastal plain contains countless shallow lakes that provide summer food for migratory birds. The two largest lakes in Alaska are Iliamna Lake and Becharof Lake. The major river system in Alaska is the Yukon , which originates in Canada’s Yukon territory. It receives drainage from the southern slopes of the Brooks Range, from the interior, and from the northern slopes of the Alaska Range. Its major tributary is the Tanana River . Iliamna Lake, southwestern Alaska. Erin McKittrick Climate Alaska is known for its variable climate, which is influenced by ocean currents . The western coasts are bathed by the Alaska Current , which carries relatively warm Pacific waters northward and westward along the southern Aleutian Islands.

Those warm oceanic waters enter the Bering Sea and then flow eastward along the northern coast of the Aleutians. The mixing of the warm waters with the Bering Sea’s cold waters contributes to an atmospheric low-pressure centre known as the Aleutian low . The Arctic coast of Alaska, on the other hand, is bathed by a cold, westward-flowing ocean current. Boreal forest (taiga) in early autumn, with white spruce, birch, and low shrubs, near the Fortymile … Photograph, © George Wuerthner Several general climatic zones may be delineated in Alaska, excluding the great mountain ranges. The first zone—comprising southern coastal and southeastern Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska islands, and the Aleutian Islands—has average temperature ranges in the summer of about 40 to 60 °F (4 to 16 °C) and in the winter of about 20 to 40 °F (−7 to 4 °C). Rainfall varies locally from about 60 to 160 inches (1,500 to 4,000 mm).

However, the Cordova-Valdez region and parts of the west-central panhandle have the state’s highest precipitation, 220 inches (5,600 mm) or more. At Valdez 200 inches (5,100 mm) of snow is not uncommon. The Aleutian Islands are noted for sudden high winds known as williwaws. Northern lights over Bear Lake, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Airman Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force Alaska’s interior, a second climatic zone, has a continental climate influenced in the winter by cold air from northern Canada and Siberia . Average temperatures in the interior range from about 45 to 75 °F (7 to 24 °C) in summer and about 20 to −10 °F (−7 to −23 °C) in winter. It is not uncommon, however, for temperatures to reach into the 90s F (about 34 °C) in summer or drop into the −60s F (about −54 °C) in winter. Thunderstorms are common in the interior in summer, and severe lightning has caused forest fires .

Anchorage has warmer winters and cooler summers than the rest of the interior and an annual precipitation amount of about 15 to 20 inches (380 to 500 mm). Another climatic zone, the islands and coast of the Bering Sea, has summer temperatures of about 40 to 60 °F (4 to 16 °C) and winter temperatures of about 10 to 20 °F (−12 to −7 °C). Tempering influences of the Pacific dissipate north of the Pribilof Islands , and pack ice covers the area every winter. Storms originating in the North Pacific often strike the coasts of the Bering Sea and sometimes cause coastal flooding. The high winds and blizzards brought by such storms create hazardous conditions for the sea’s fishing vessels.

The ameliorating effects of the Beaufort Sea maintain the temperatures of yet another climatic zone—the Arctic coastal lowland, or North Slope—at about 35 to 55 °F (2 to 13 °C) in the summer and about −5 to −20 °F (−21 to −29 °C) in the winter, but frequent storms and the prevailing polar easterlies create frequent high winds and blowing snow . About 5 to 10 inches (125 to 250 mm) of precipitation, mostly as snow but also as rain (especially in August), creates a waterlogged environment due to low evaporation and permafrost . The Arctic region has 24 hours of sunlight in the summer, but the low sun angle limits thawing of the surface to not more than about 1 foot (0.3 metre), while the absence of sunlight in the winter allows an ice cover of at least 1,000 feet (300 metres). Ice covers the northern coast nine months of the year. Midnight sun over Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle.

Josef Muench Since 1979 the climate of Alaska has been gradually warming (see global warming ), which has caused a measurable amount of permafrost to melt. Moreover, the Arctic Ocean ’s pack ice has decreased in thickness, and in summers it has been receding farther north, increasing the possibility that both the Northwest and Northeast passages, accessed through the Bering Strait, may become open for navigation during the summer. That phenomenon would threaten polar bears’ habitats, the seals on which they feed, and the bowhead whales that spend summers in the Beaufort Sea. Several fish species already have begun migrating northward along Alaska’s Pacific Coast because of the warming temperatures. Plant and animal life The panhandle and southern islands are covered with Sitka spruce , hemlock, some Alaskan cedar, and other evergreens. The interior is dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) and white spruce (P. glauca), which form the climax forest (a stable forest community that has adapted to its natural environmental succession). Birch , willow , and aspen trees are also prevalent in the interior. Boreal forest, Alaska, U.S., dominated by spruce trees (Picea).

Erwin & Peggy Bauer/Bruce Coleman Ltd. The islands of the Bering Sea represent a small but unique Arctic maritime environment, typified by St. Lawrence, Nunivak , and St. Matthew islands and the Pribilof group . Those tundra-covered islands are surrounded by sea ice in winter and serve as protected refuges for the world’s largest herds of fur-bearing seals and sea otters , as well as sea lions and walrus . A protected group of musk oxen inhabit Nunivak Island . Northern fur seal bull (Callorhinus ursinus) presiding over his harem on St. Paul, … Stephen J. Krasemann/Peter Arnold, Inc. Filming Alaska’s black bears. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Musk oxen in the snow, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Alaska, U.S. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The interior, particularly Denali National Park and Preserve , has an abundance of wildlife, including brown and grizzly bears , caribou ( reindeer ), wolves , and moose . The North Slope is home to large herds of caribou in the summer.

Those caribou migrate from south of the Brooks Range to the Arctic coastal plain for breeding; there, constant winds eliminate insects, and the caribou can see its enemy, the wolf, at a great distance. Large numbers of migratory birds nest in both the interior and on the Arctic coastal plain. Caribou migrating, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Moose cow (Alces alces) with her two calves in the taiga of Alaska. Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management People Population composition Thousands of years before Danish explorer Vitus Bering arrived in Alaska in 1741, the Tlingit and Haida people were living in the southern and southeastern coastal area; the Aleuts on the Aleutian Islands and the western Alaska Peninsula; the Inuit and Yupik ( Eskimo ) on the Bering shore and the Arctic Ocean coast; and various Athabaskan-speaking peoples in the interior (see American Subarctic peoples ). The Tsimshian people of Metlakatla in the southeast migrated into Alaska from British Columbia during the latter decades of the 19th century.

In the early 21st century, Native Alaskans constituted about one-seventh of the state’s population. Members of a Tlingit clan in Sitka, Alaska, dressed in traditional clothing. James Poulson—Daily Sitka Sentinel/AP The remaining citizenry includes military personnel and their families and a melting pot of ethnicities . The mixture of English, Russian, Spanish, and French place-names found in the state reflect its early exploration by a variety of European countries. The Russian-American Company brought the first Christian missionaries to Alaska; one of the most famous of those was Innocent Veniaminov , who became Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow and was later canonized. The Russian Orthodox Church converted many Native Alaskans to Christianity and today has its main cathedral in Anchorage. Other noted Orthodox churches are in Unalaska and Sitka. Kodiak is the site of one of the few Russian Orthodox seminaries in the United States. Adherents to virtually all other Christian denominations exist in Alaska as well. Most Alaskans in the interior are Roman Catholic or Episcopalian. The state also has smaller communities of Jews and followers of other faiths.

Traditional beliefs, known as shamanism , still exist without being in conflict with other faiths. Settlement patterns Slightly less than half of Alaskans live in the Greater Anchorage– Kenai Peninsula area. That region is known for its milder temperatures, proximity to the sea, ice-free ports, and petroleum and natural gas development. It is also the centre of air, road, and rail transportation and the headquarters of Alaska’s major banks, corporations, and federal and state administrative agencies. About one-seventh of the population lives in the Greater Fairbanks area, including the town of Delta Junction, historically the centre of gold mining and the terminus of the Alaska Railroad, which runs from Seward to Fairbanks. The larger cities of the south coastal archipelago and the Gulf of Alaska islands— Ketchikan , Petersburg, Sitka , and Juneau—and surrounding areas collectively contain about one-fourth of Alaska’s population and are fishing and tourism centres. Downtown Juneau, Alaska, U.S. Ted McGrath (A Britannica Publishing Partner) About one-fifth of Alaskans live in small communities situated along rivers, highways, or the coast.

Many of those are in Arctic and western Alaska, where the major settlements include Barrow (at Point Barrow ), Kotzebue , Nome , Bethel, Dillingham, Kodiak , and Unalaska—all of which experienced significant population growth in the last quarter of the 20th century. Barrow is the major hub of the North Slope as well as the northernmost town in the United States, and it has derived significant tax revenues from Prudhoe Bay oil. Harbour at Kodiak, Alaska. NancyHeise Demographic trends The first major wave of in-migration from the conterminous United States (or the “Lower 48,” as Alaskans call it) to Alaska occurred in the 1880s when gold was discovered and fish canneries were developed. The construction of the Alaska Railroad and the development of copper mining at Kennecott attracted more settlers throughout the 1920s and ’30s. Alaska became a significant military outpost during World War II as a base from which to attack the Japanese, who had invaded parts of the Aleutian Island chain, and to provide military assistance, primarily combat aircraft, to Russia.

After World War II, population growth was related to the construction of numerous military bases and the development of petroleum and natural gas in the Kenai Peninsula and at Cook Inlet . Following statehood in 1959 and the development of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields in the 1970s, Alaska experienced two decades of population growth, which roughly stabilized in the 1990s. In the early 21st century the majority of Alaska’s residents had been born out of state, though the Alaskan-born population had increased as well. At the same time the number of immigrants from outside the United States had steadily increased by the end of the 20th century. The overwhelming majority of those immigrants came from Mexico, Korea, Vietnam, China, Russia, and Germany. Alaska has one of the youngest populations of any state. At the time of the 2000 census, the proportion of Alaskans over age 65 was slightly less than 7 percent (about half the U.S. average). However, that slice of the population was growing in the early 21st century. Economy The Alaskan economy is conditioned strongly by the state’s continuing status as a frontier.

While the high costs of labour and transportation and complicated environmental and land-use constraints still tend to discourage outside investment, major improvements in infrastructure have lowered the costs of economic transformation significantly. The problem of the state’s inadequate tax base was remedied by the discovery in 1968 of the North Slope oil fields, which led to the creation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline , thereby creating jobs and increasing revenue for the state. Alaska’s present-day economy is based on oil production, fishing, federal and state (both civilian and military) expenditures, research and development, and tourism. Section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in winter, Alaska, U.S. © Alaska Stock LLC/Alamy Agriculture, forestry, and fishing More than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of potentially tillable land exist in Alaska, but only a small portion of the state’s economy is agricultural, and most foods must be imported. The state government promoted agricultural expansion in the 1970s, but the amount of cultivable land brought into production was small, and no major expansions have been made since then.

Commercial farming (including the growing of barley and potatoes, as well as the raising of cows and pigs) is concentrated in the Matanuska-Susitna valley, which lies north of Anchorage, near the town of Delta Junction, which is southeast of Fairbanks, and to a lesser degree in the Kenai Peninsula . There is also considerable small-scale farming in the Fairbanks area itself, where vegetables, potatoes, and various grains grow rapidly due to the long hours of summer sunlight. There is some livestock raising on Kodiak Island . Sheep are raised on Unimak Island, and caribou are raised for local consumption in the Kotzebue region. Alaska also produces feed for the increasing number of horses kept in the state for recreational use and for hunting and guided trips. American bison (buffalo), originally imported, are sometimes harvested in the Delta Junction region. Hunting , particularly of moose and caribou, as well as fishing and whaling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, plays a major role in the subsistence economy of native peoples. Most of Alaska’s commercial timber resources are in the Tongass and Chugach national forests—respectively, in the panhandle and on the southern coast.

Due to logging regulations, which restricted timber leases, the pulp mills in Sitka and Ketchikan closed in the 1990s, and Alaskan timber and forestry-related activities and exports were significantly reduced. Efforts to establish an export forestry industry in the Tanana Valley have been unsuccessful. Alaska’s commercial fishing economy is one of the country’s most significant, and the port of Kodiak is one of the largest fishing ports in the United States. Most of Alaska’s fish production is exported. Salmon of various species are of special importance; the centres of the world’s salmon-packing industry are at Ketchikan, on Kodiak Island, in the city of Unalaska, in Bristol Bay, and in Prince William Sound. Commercial fishing fleets also bring in significant quantities of herring, cod, pollack, and halibut , as well as Dungeness, king, and Tanner crabs. International fishing of Alaska’s waters is regulated by the 200-mile- (320-km-) wide exclusive economic zone and the U.S.-Canadian Pacific Salmon Treaty (1985), as well as by U.S.-Russian cooperation over control of the Bering Sea fisheries.

Oysters and clams are harvested on aquatic farms. Fishing boats at Homer, Alaska. © Perger/Fotolia Alaska State Name Origin, Alaska Nicknames Alaska State Names (Etymology of Names) Alaska Name Origin and State Nicknames Alaska Alaska is a state situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent and is the largest and most sparsely populated. Bordering the state to the east is the Canadian Yukon Territory and the province of British Columbia, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia (specifically, Siberia) further west across the Bering Strait. The name "Alaska" was introduced in the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut, or Unangam (the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska) idiom, which symbolically refers to the mainland or shore of Alaska. Figuratively, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed. It is also known as Alyeska, the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root. Alaska Nicknames North Star State (this name also being claimed by Minnesota).

Up Over Origin of Alaska State Name The name Alaska comes from the language of the area's indigenous people and is derived from the Yupik word "Alyeska," meaning "great land" or "that which the sea breaks against." The Aleuts lived on the Aleutian Islands, a chain that extends westward from a large peninsula in southwestern Alaska. The first large island is Unimak Island, where the village of False Pass and Shishaldin Volcano sit. From their perspective, the peninsula led to a large land, the continent of North America. The name "Alaska" was also used by early Russian and British explorers and settlers to refer only to the peninsula. This name was used by the United States to refer first to the entire Territory and then to the State after its purchase in 1867. Alaska Nicknames (no official nickname) Alaska has no official nickname although, when it joined the union in 1959 a number of suggestions were made. Alaska is more commonly (but unofficially) known as The Last Frontier, or The Land of the Midnight Sun.

Alaska license plates display North to the Future It was even at one time referred to as Up Over (in comic opposition to New Zealand and Australia, which are "Down Under"). The Last Frontier Alaska, admitted as the 49th state on January 03, 1959 to the union is thought of as "America's Last Frontier" because of it's distance from the lower 48 states and it's rugged landscape, climate, and the sun shines nearly around the clock during Alaskan summers. Land of the Midnight Sun Refers to Alaska's northern locations where, for a period of time, in the summer, the sun never completely dips below the horizon. The sun is visible at midnight. Some parts of Alaska such as Barrow, the sun doesn't set for 84 days. The Great Land The name Alaska is derived from the Yupik word "Alyeska," meaning "great land" or "that which the sea breaks against." (previously used on license plates) Seward's Folly After the agreement to purchase Alaska, 1867 the name was given after Secretary of State William Seward, who proposed the often-ridiculed purchase and the official acceptance of the name Alaska.

Seward's Icebox Derisive name given to the Alaska territory during the battle between Secretary of State William H. Seward and the United States Congress over the purchase of the land from Russia. Russian America Before it was purchased by the United States in 1867. Territory of Baranov For Alexander Baranov, the early Russian leader on this continent. Up Over Up Over (in comic opposition to New Zealand and Australia, which are "Down Under"). Sourdough State Sourdough is associated with gold rushes. During the Alaska gold rush, it was practically illegal to enter the state without sourdough. It kept you alive. A sourdough is someone who has weathered some time in Alaska. Alaska Slogans Alaskan - Official (recommended by U.S. GPO) State Names The etymologies of some US state names are more obvious than others, derived from the Spanish or French tongue. Though, more than half of the US state names come from Native American tribal languages, with several still a mystery to scholars and historians. Colleges & Universities With access to over 8,500 schools to choose from! Get Your Degree!

Kids Encyclopedia | Children's Homework Help | Kids Online Dictionary | Britannica 1Excluding military abroad. Summary The last American frontier, Alaska is the largest of the U.S. states in size but one of the smallest in population. Nearly everything about the 49th state is big. Its Denali (also called Mount McKinley) is higher than any other peak in North America. Its Yukon River is one of the longest navigable waterways in the world. Huge animals still thrive in its open spacesgrizzly, black, and polar bears; moose, caribou, musk-oxen, wolves; otter, walrus, seals, humpback and killer whales. Alaska is a land of spectacular contrastssmoking volcanoes and frozen tundra, hot springs and ice floes, creeping glaciers and virgin forests. This vast, raw, and rugged land thrusts a chain of volcanic islands more than a thousand miles southwest into the Bering Sea. Reaching beyond the international date line, the land area originally spanned four time zones. It juts northward far into the Arctic Circle, and to the south its Panhandle extends for miles between the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Rockies .

The Stars and Stripes have flown over Alaska since March 30, 1867, when the vast land was purchased from Russia for 7.2 million dollars. In 1959 Alaska became the first new state since New Mexico and Arizona had achieved statehood in 1912, which was also the year Alaska was incorporated as a territorythe first step toward statehood. The state is so large that it increased the area of the United States by a fifth. Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, long its predecessor as the largest state. About a third of the vast area is forested, and glaciers cover about 29,000 square miles (75,000 square kilometers). The Malaspina glacier complex is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word alaxsxaq, meaning object toward which the action of the sea is directedthat is, the mainland. Its nicknames are the Land of the Midnight Sun and America's Last Frontier.

It was once labeled Seward's folly and Seward's icebox in ridicule of the secretary of state who negotiated the purchase of what was considered a liability. Area 665,384 square miles (1,723,337). Population (2010) 710,231. " Quick Facts: Alaska." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Alaska Facts - Symbols, Famous People, Tourist Attractions Alaska Facts This page contains a wealth of information on the state of Alaska. Please click on the type of the fact that you are interested in: Total (Land + Water): 663,267 sq miles; Land Only: 571,951 sq miles Number of Counties Denali National Park and Preserve Gates of the Arctic National Park Glacier Bay National Park Katmai National Park and Preserve Kenai Fjords National Park Top 5 Cities (2010 population) Anchorage (291,826) Denali National Park : National park in the middle of Alaska.

Alyeska Resort : Ski resort in Gridwood, Alaska. Mendenhall Glacier : Glacier about 12 miles from Juneau, Alaska. Anchorage Museum : Museum in Anchorage, Alaska. Kenai Fjords National Park : National park on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center : Wildlife refuge in Anchorage, Alaska. Chilkoot Trail : 33-mile trail from Dyea, Alaska, to Bennett, British Columbia, in Canada. Portage Glacier : Glacier on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. Icy Strait Point : Tourist attraction in Hoonah, Alaska. Kincaid Park : Municipal park in Anchorage, Alaska. Mount Roberts Tramway : Cable car station in Juneau, Alaska. Famous People Born In Alaska Famous Actors And Actresses Darby Stanchfield Alaska Fun Facts The name "Alaska" was derived from the Aleut word "Alaxsxaq," which means "mainland," or literally, "object to which the action of the sea is directed." Outsiders first discovered Alaska in 1741 when Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia.

Alaska is the only state that does not collect state sales tax or levy an individual state income tax Alaska is home to North America's highest peak, Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), at 20,320 feet. The closest distance between mainland Alaska and mainland Russia is about 55 miles. In addition, the U.S.-owned Small Diomede and Russia-owned Big Diomede, both islands in the Bering Straits, are only about 2.5 miles apart. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined. Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,904 miles of shoreline. Alaska has over 3 million lakes, of which 3,197 have an official name. Alaska has over 130 volcanoes that have been active within the last two million years. Juneau has no road access to the rest of the state. It is the only capital city in the United States accessible only by boat or plane. Juneau is also the largest city in the United States, covering 3,108 square miles. Juneau is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle. This page was last updated on December 13, 2016. United States Geography for Kids: Alaska Benny Benson - Designed the Alaskan state flag at the age of 13. Carlos Boozer - NBA basketball player. Jimmy Doolittle - WWII general and war hero. Wyatt Earp - Lawman from the American West. Joseph Juneau - Gold prospector and founder of the city of Juneau. Sarah Palin - Governor who ran for Vice President. Curt Schilling - Professional baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox. Robert Stroud - Killer known as the 'Birdman of Alcatraz.' Fun Facts The capital of Alaska, Juneau, does not connect with the rest of Alaska (or any portion of the United States) by land. You can only get there by boat or plane. Alaska is the largest U.S. state, by far. Its twice as big as the next largest state, Texas. Mount McKinley is the tallest mountain in all of North America. Alaska is the coldest state, but parts of it can get hot in the summer; up to 90 degrees F.

Nome, Alaska holds the Great American Bathtub Race on Labor Day each year. Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867 by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. Many people thought this was a waste and called it Seward's Folly, until they discovered gold! Gold was discovered here in 1896. Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands in 1943 during World War II. Around 25% of the oil produced in the United States comes from Alaska. Alaska has the longest shoreline of any US State with over 30,000 miles of shoreline. Professional Sports Teams State Flower of Alaska | Alpine Forget-Me-Not Alpine forget-me-not; photo by Mike65ie on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike). All State Flowers Official State Flower of Alaska Alaska adopted the wild native alpine forget-me-not as the state flower in 1917. Alpine forget-me-nots belong to one of the few plant families that display true blue flowers.

All State Flowers The wild native alpine forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris), grows well throughout Alaska in open, rocky places high in the mountains. You will see the diminutive alpine forget-me-not in midsummer, and perhaps one of several other varieties in Alaska (such as mountain forget-me-nots and splendid forget-me-nots). Alaska

Question: Which U S state, known as “The Mainland State”, or “The Last Frontier”, has the forget-me-not as its state flower?
Answer: Alaska